| Congratulations! You have interest in, or have already begun, starting to put together a support or self-help group. You'll find lots of help available to make it easier and even fun. You have a choice of having meetings face-to-face, by telephone conference, or by Internet "chat" or "bulletin board". Here are some time worn suggestions and a list of some of the better resources available in print and on the web. |
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| 1. See if your group already exists. Use the suggestions
in this site covering ways to find a self-help group to determine for sure
whether or not the group you want already exists. (Click
here to link to that page.) This is a no-lose proposition. If
you visit a group and find what you are looking for, hey, you don't have
to start your own group. If that group does not provide what you
want, or if you feel that another group would be appropriate for your area,
you can learn from what you see there; the members may even be available
to help start and make referrals to your new group.
2. Work with others from the get-go. If you start the group alone, it will likely forever be identified by members as "your" group. You then have the pleasure of doing all the work and often figuring out why so few people attend. If you as "founder" of the group identify a few others as "leaders" and all of you start the group, you then have a group started where every member feels some ownership of the group and is invested in its success. In addition, as new folks join, they are more likely to recognize that it is important for every member to make some contribution to the group. 3. Talk with others who have done what you want to do. The old phrase is "Don't re-invent the wheel." In our experience the most valuable person to contact is someone who has founded and hopefully led a group very similar to yours. Be sure to ask for ideas that have worked, as well as things they did which bombed! 4. Start small (you know, the old Keep It Simple and Stupid principle). This will give you a chance to work out the bugs, make some mistakes, and generally get things in order before you do your marketing to the general public. |
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| Faking Pain and Suffering in Support Groups on the Internet.
This isn't discussed very often, but is an important consideration.
As Bill Cosby used to say about the New York subways, "There's a nut in
every car." (This link is outdated; we are researching a new
source.)
Starting
any type of local support group.
Comfort and Support Are Just A Dial Tone Away
(Information on Telephone Conference Support Groups. This
brief on-line pamphlet describes the basics of one free or low cost telephone
system sponsored by grants to SupportWorks. The system is available
to individuals and any nonprofit organization. It does not go into
detail regarding how to start a group (see print pamphlet above).
Starting
an OnLine Self-Help Group. (URL: http://mentalhelp.net/selfhelp/selfhelp.php?id=863)
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| Power Tools: Ways
to Build A Self-Help Group. Written originally
by Dr. Joal Fischer of SupportWorks with lots of editorial help from experts
in Canada and the United States, this is an 8 page booklet covering
the A-Z of putting together an effective support group. It was used
as the topic brochure at the 1992 International Self-Help Conference in
Ottawa in 1992. It costs $3 for the first copy and $1 for each additional
copy. It is available by sending a check to SupportWorks, 500 East
Morehead Street, Suite 222, Charlotte, NC 28202.
Want a free copy of Power Tools right now? Click here to download the pdf version. How to Start A Telephone Conference Group is a supplement to Power Tools covering the specifics of how to start a telephone conference support group in significant detail. It is available from SupportWorks at the address in the paragraph above. It is not sold alone; it and Power Tools together are sold together for $5 for the first copy and $2 for each copy thereafter. If you decide to start a telephone conference group, the folks at SupportWorks will be happy to help you at any step (yep, even if you don't buy the booklet). Want a free copy of the telephone booklet too? We'll be loading it on the same page as Power Tools as soon as time allows. The Self-Help Sourcebook (7th edition-2002) by Barbara White and Edward Madara from the American Self Help Clearinghouse is the, and we mean the, very best listing of national and international support groups. It contains several essays on starting and running support groups which are well-written. It is available from the American Self-Help Clearinghouse for $12 each (including US snail-mail postage) by sending your check to ASHC, 100 East Hanover Avenue, Suite 202, Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927-2020. Got questions? Call them at 973/326-6789 (toll free in NJ 800/367-6274). |
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